


2 boys, 1 closet

by Chinchillaplum



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Confessions, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heart-to-Heart, Hidden Feelings, Locked In, Love Confessions, M/M, Other, Romantic Comedy, Trapped, secret feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 23:03:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20281333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chinchillaplum/pseuds/Chinchillaplum
Summary: The title says it all. The title's a joke btw (No mature stuff!)Sal and Travis gets locked in a church closet and this could be a good opportunity to either fight or bond a little.What will it be?





	2 boys, 1 closet

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually my very first Sally Face fanfic. It wasn't really anything fancy or that great. It's mostly just a cheesy lil one shot. I'm not even a real or big Sal/Travis shipper but I find them to be really cute as friends. 
> 
> I'm working on other Sally face fics and one of them will be crazy XD

”Great! Of all the people in this church, town and fucking world I had to be locked in a closet with YOU!” Travis yelled out and kicked the wall. He repeated the gesture three times before he span around and leaned against the hard wood. A deep sigh left his lips that more sounded like a groan of pure pain as he slide down the wall and hit the floor.

“That’s harsh, dude. You’re making it sound like it’s a bad thing.” The bluenette across the small room sighed, leaning against the wall as well. He, aside from Travis, kept his cool about the situation. There was no need to get crazy over such a small thing as being locked in a closet in a public building. They weren’t out in frickin nowhere.

“It IS a bad thing! Don’t act like everything is fucking fine!” Travis snapped as he pulled his knees up to his chest. It was almost like he feared Sal.

“I’m not. I’m just trying to stay calm and focused unlike you.” Sal calmly answered, not moving a muscle. His blue eyes focused on the blonde boy behind his mask. He almost looked like a little curious kitten with it.

“I AM CALM!”

“I can see that.”

“Are you fucking mocking me!?” The blonde snapped again, glaring at Sal with a sharp stare.

“It depends on how you see it. I could be, but it’s not my intention.” Sal shrugged. He didn’t mean to mock anyone. He was just trying to keep a simple conversation going. It was indeed unclear for how long they would be stuck in their situation so why fight during the time?

“Great… I’m stuck in a freaking closet! This is god’s way of testing me!”

“Aren’t you taking it a little too far now?”

“Shut up! What do you even know about it anyway!? Why did it have to be YOU!? Why did it have to be YOU who helped out today!?”

“…Because I wanted to.”

“That’s a big stinking lie! No one really wants to help. It’s just something they say because they want to feel like good people in other’s eyes. They are just scared of being judged!”

“It’s probably the signs fault.”

“Huh? What sign?”

“The giant one outside that tells you “God is watching”. Can’t miss it, dude.”

“…You ARE mocking me.” Travis mumbled as he leaned his head against the wall. He sighed deeply, not knowing what to do.

The two boys had been accidentally locked inside a closet in the town’s church after helping out with decorating the church for the holidays. Lights, angels and stars where all over the place at the moment and if the evening would continue, more would it be. Travis, who everyone at school called the “Jesus kid”, always helped out with the decoration every year. He pretty much had to since he was the son of the town’s local pastor. The church was run by his family so he had too, either he wanted or not. His life was not a happy one since he lived with the secret of being abused by his so called father. It was probably pretty obvious for some people since he did appear at school with bruises and black eyes now and them. However, no one asked or even thought about it that much. Perhaps they only thought that he was often getting into trouble. His situation did make him developed a bully attitude to help him protect himself. It sadly caused him to end up alone…

Sal on the other hand, the one they called Sally Face, had both friends and a personality worth fighting for. Despite his appearance, which was hidden behind a prosthetic face, he had a personality that could light up the dark. He was a unique one. Travis had to admit that Sal was indeed unique. There was something with him that made Travis lose focus and get that creepy tingly feeling inside. He didn’t want to feel that though! It was forbidden for a boy like him to have those kinds of feelings! This annoying and disgusting flaw he had been infected with, or at least that was his father’s words. His hidden homosexuality. He couldn’t feel this! And especially NOT for Sal!

When Travis had found out that Sal would help decorating the church he wanted to escape the church and lock himself in his room back home. But his father refused to let him skip this kind of task. It was their duty and if someone slacked off, God would punish them without mercy. Instead, he spent the whole afternoon making sure to either stay out of Sal’s way or ignore him to the fullest. He refused to let the blue hair doll face get to his mind! Sal had volunteered to help out since it weren’t that many this year that have done it. He also liked to help out as much as possible. His friends were busy at the moment with other things so he wasn’t going to try forcing them along. Instead he helped hanging up glitter and angels where he was told to place them. The feeling of having Travis glaring into his neck during half the time was not a problem at all.

The day had been going on without problem until around 16:00 pm when Travis went to get more glitter from one of the closets behind the altar. As he had stepped inside and reached for a box on the higher shelf's he accidentally knocked another box over which resulted in both of them falling to the floor. Glitter, broken light bulbs and ornaments spread across the floor in a record speed. Travis cursed under his breath as he knelt down to start pick up all the items on the floor. He couldn’t leave it like this and the other adult would be annoyed with his clumsiness. He tried his best to hurry collecting everything and mash it back into the boxes, not bothering how messy it ended up being.

He was soon startled in his rush as a familiar voice called out for him in the doorway. A familiar small boy was standing right in front of him, staring at him behind his mask. That pretty blue hair was as usual tied up in two pigtails and showed off that pretty shape was Sally Face himself. Travis gulped. That feeling was back and he did not like it one single bit! He couldn’t let it take over now, not when he was in the middle of things. As soon as Sal took a step forward and asked if he needed help, Travis silently reached for a angel decoration nearby. It had fallen right next to the box he was putting the items into and it was made out of plastic. Lucky it wouldn’t break or hurt that much he thought to himself and the bluenette stepped closer to him. Sal entered the closet and repeated his question. Perhaps Travis didn’t hear him at first.

The blood attacked Travis face as Sal came closer. He must look ridiculous at the moment! “N-no…” Was the only thing he could mumble as he got a better grip around the angel ornament in his hand. Sal could of course not hear him since he mumbled like an idiot by the other side of the closet. He tilted his head, his pigtails pouncing like they always did when he did that, and remained on the spot. “What was that?” He asked and took a small step closer. This caused Travis to panic. In a split of a second he yelled out “I said no! Don’t come in here!” and the angel in his hands flew across the room hitting the left side of Sal’s mask. The sudden pain and rough sound flying through his head made Sal fall backwards and hit the side of the door. The door itself was built so it would close by itself unless anything held it up and thanks to the sudden throw the doorstop was kicked aside by Sal’s fall. The door shut and clicked while the two boys remained in the darkness.

Sal groaned and gently reached his finger in under the mask, feeling his cheek with his fingertips. It was fine, but it hurt. His ears hurt too and his heart was beating fast. He was indeed a little shocked by that. “W-What the hell is your problem dude!?” Sal snapped as he felt both annoyed and angry by the moment. He had done nothing but trying to be nice towards Travis all day and this was what he got in return!? He then turned around and felt for the light switch that was placed next to the door. With a tiny flip the light was on again. Why hadn’t Travis put it on in the first place anyway?

Travis was roughly rubbing his cheeks to get the stupid blood away from his face. It didn’t help much. He was still sitting on the floor by the boxes, cursing under his breath to help him think other thoughts. He glared up at Sal who did the same towards him. He could tell Sal was annoyed with him but why would he care? The day was soon over and they had to finish up. With a quick little jump he was back up on his feet and headed towards the door. Sal followed his with his eye and frowned behind the mask. “Aren’t you even going to apologize!?”

“For what!?” The blonde boy snapped and frowned. He had no reason to do such thing at the moment. This made Sal angry and Travis could feel it in his neck how the other boy glared. It was rare to see Sal angry since he was most of the time fine with assaults but his breaking point must be around Christmas he thought. Or perhaps he was just sick and tired of Travis.

“For that bomb you threw at me, perhaps!?” The bluenette frowned.

“It was an angel made out of plastic! You’ll survive. Besides, I told you not to enter!” Travis gave Sal one of his famous glares as he looked over his shoulder.

“Maybe so! But if it was made out of glass, I would need more than a prosthetic face to keep my head where it should be!” Sal snapped before he then sighed deeply. He crossed his arms and watched Travis move another box aside from the door.

“If it were made out of glass, I wouldn’t have thrown it.” Travis mumbled as he reached for the door handle. When he pulled it down the door wouldn’t move. Suddenly another hint of panic hit him as he tried again. He then tried again and again but the door was locked. Why was it locked!? It then hit him! He threw himself back and then almost froze in shock. “N-no… W-we’re trapped.”

“Pardon?” Sal asked as he stepped closer to join Travis in door staring. He didn’t seem as upset as the blonde. Why should he even be? “How come we’re locked in?”

“B-because…” Travis took a deep breath before he managed to speak normally. “Because the damn doors in this church are built to only be able to open from the outside. You can’t open them from the inside!”

“What kind of weird construction is that?” Sal asked and even had to try pulling the handle as well to check if it was really true.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like that!” Travis snapped again. He was getting frustrated now. “Also, don’t ask me! I didn’t design this stupid shit building! I just have to attend it for the rest of my life.”

“Oh well, sooner or later someone will come.” Sal shrugged and backed away from the door. He then knelt down to pick up some things from the floor. This now brought them to the situation where they simply sat down on a corner each and waited.

It had been at least 20 minutes now since they got locked in and Travis was getting restless. Where were all the others in this stupid place!? For how long would they be stuck in here!? Travis leaned against the wall a little more before letting out a groan. His eyes fell on Sal in front of him who seemed pretty calm, just like before. This didn’t help Travis either. “How can you be so calm!?”

“I dunno. I guess I find it useless to get worked up over nothing.” Sal shrugged.

“Nothing? You think this is nothing!?” Travis almost felt surprised. How could the other guy simple think this was nothing?

“I mean, we’re locked in a church closet, A LOCAL church closet. It’s not like we’re locked in a box in the middle of freaking nowhere. Sooner or later someone will come and let us out.” Sal shrugged and closed the box he had just finished packing. Some of the light bulbs were broken but the other items had managed to avoid any hits to the floor.

“I guess… I suppose we could scream until our lungs pop.” Travis frowned at the door. As if anyone would be looking for him. His father would probably think that he had slacked off and went back home to scold him. The other Jesus loving ladies and perv-dudes were probably on smoke break or napping behind the benches. Yes, Travis had his own opinion on the people attending church. He never cared for them and whenever they came to church, he only wished that the Sunday would be over in a snap. This all sadly meant that it could take a while before anyone found them.

Sal however didn’t seem worried at all. When one of the boxes was finished, he gently pushed it aside and stretched out his arms a little. “Please don’t scream. Loud noises mess up my head.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? You got migraine?” Travis asked in a surprisingly calm tone. He actually wasn’t sounding insulting but more curious.

“Not really. I just don’t sleep and the lack of energy messes up my senses. Hearing and sight is the worst.” Sal simply answered. He wasn’t sure if he knew Travis enough to tell him what was really bothering him. Ghosts and nightmares would probably scare the blonde away.

“Lack of sleep?” Travis spoke low, a little to himself as he stated the reason. He then looked up again, facing Sal with his own tired eyes. It was clear that he understood that kind of problem. “Anything… Anything special that’s causing it?”

“Nightmares…” Sal answered. He was now leaning against the wall again. He wasn’t sure if telling Travis about the nightmares was a good thing, but it was better than saying that he lived in a haunted apartment building.

“Nightmares huh?” Travis went silent for a short while. He knew about nightmares too well, and he didn’t even have to sleep to get them. He was living in one! He then looked at Sal, one of his eyes hidden behind a bruise trying to heal with the help of time. Everyone noticed his bruises and black eyes but no one ever asked about them. “W-what are they about?”

Sal felt surprised. Was Travis actually trying to strike up a normal conversation with him? “You’re interested?”

There was a short silence again as Travis slightly gulped. He didn’t want to make anything awkward but he wanted to kill time. Besides, this could be the only time he actually got a chance to be alone with Sal. “I guess… Or I mean, I just want to kill time.”

“Better than nothing, I guess.” Sal nodded. He tried to think about what to answer next. Which dream should he bring up? They were all a mess of madness and puzzles so it could be hard to explain. “Well, all of them are different from the other. No one’s alike. They slightly remind me of a maze of puzzles and they leave clues behind.”

“Umm…” Travis tried to understand but it was not so easy. What did that even mean? “I was more thinking about… You know, what’s IN the dream? Are you dreaming about a monster? I often do…”

“Oh! Of course! I mean, sure there’s weird creatures in my dreams. Everything from bloodthirsty shadows to Glitterponys.” Sal had to bite his lip as he just realized what he said last. Ponies? Seriously? Well, the bright colored pony’s in HIS dreams looked a lot different from the one’s on TV. The one invading his dreams would probably NOT end up at a toy shelf at the store. However, the light snort that escaped the blonde across the room spoke for itself. It was stupid but more importantly was that Travis laughed at it! Sal couldn’t even remember if he ever seen the dude smile before. Light smirks didn’t count!

“W-what? Glitterponys? You fear Glitterponys!?” Travis had to smile at that thought. “I mean, yeah those creepy horses DO look weird but I never thought you could FEAR them!”

“I don’t FEAR them. It’s just that the ones in my dreams look… different.” Sal chuckled.

“How different?” Travis crossed his arms and let another light chuckle escape him.

“Try to picture a Glitterpony in your mind.” Sal began as he lifted up his hands to gesture. Travis did as he was told, closed his eyes and nodded. He came up with the image of a colorful and glitter covered pony in his mind. Sal smirked behind the mask and continued. “Now, try to imagen it again but it's the size of a minivan, dehydrated and with wrinkled, crackled skin all over it.”

It didn’t take long for Travis to shiver at the thought. He had to admit that was disturbing. “Ewwww… Alright, I get the picture.” He did however chuckle a little again. The subject was weird but somewhat funny.

“It’s quite interesting to be honest.” Sal tilted his head again. Travis almost immediately froze on the spot and met Sal’s eyes. The bluenette boy let out a small chuckle. “Take it easy! I wasn’t accusing you or anything. I simply find it funny that we’re actually having a quite nice time. I mean, you’re chilling out.”

Chilling out? It almost felt as if Travis had never heard that phrase before. It was indeed new to him. He had never thought about having friends or a good time in general around people. He was probably hated by everyone at school and every time someone reached out to him he simply shut them out. He didn’t dare risk his emotions. However, Sal was different. It was those damn feeling he had for the masked bluenette. He didn’t know if he was 'in love' with Sal, but he had some sort of feelings for him. Sal made him feel… pretty good about himself. Whenever Sal was around, his cheeks often got warm and stomach got tied up in a knot. Not in the bad way but a rather pleasant way. Almost as if his body began to prepare itself for a situation leading to joy.

Travis bit his lip a little which made it ache, not only because it was already swollen from a previous punch but the fact that he bit into it so hard it went numb. Sal could tell that his classmate got uncomfortable so he decided to change the subject. “Anyway… looking forward to new year?”

That question helped a little. Travis shrugged and looked into a corner. “I guess. But why new year?” He gently looked up at Sal again. “Wouldn't Christmas be more popular?”

“Of course Christmas is nice. But that’s more of a family tradition. New year’s more for friends.” Sal said as he began to undo one of his pigtails. He often liked to redo his hairstyle to kill time. Perhaps a ponytail would do at the moment, or perhaps some braids?

“Friends…” Travis frowned at that. “No, I usually sit on my room at new year’s eve. Or take a walk…” He muttered to himself. It was soon he noticed that Sal had let out his hair. He took a moment to let his eyes rest on the image. He was indeed something. Sal ran his fingers through his blue locks and felt a few annoying knots on the way.

Sal tried to tug on them but they were indeed stubborn little shits. “Damn… And I didn’t even bring a comb or anything…” He mumbled.

The struggling that Sal put up with his hair had Travis thinking deeply. He didn’t want to at first but he was thinking about a suggestion to offer. In the next moment he let it slip out. “I… I have one.”

Sal looked up and stopped pulling his hair. He let his eyes rest on Travis for a while until Travis repeated himself. “I got a comb in my pocket… Dad usually wants me to look my best so I always carry a crappy comb with me. You can borrow it if you want.”

The kind offer made by his class mate honestly stunned Sal. He nodded and moved his hair aside, pulling some behind his right ear. The hair got a little stuck in his earrings. “If you trust me enough, I’ll be more than thankful.”

Travis nodded and dug into his pocket, soon pulling out a plain black comb mate out of plastic. With a slow speed he walked up to his classmate. “It’s pretty shitty, but it’ll do.” He mumbled. Sal thanked him and reached out his hand to grab the comb. His fingernails did gently rub against Travis hand as the comb was taken from him. He bit his lip again, hiding his now red cheeks.

Sal put his blue hair ties around his right wrist and began to comb his hair, starting by the tips. His movements were quick and a little rough at the beginning to get the knots out.

Travis sat down on the floor again, gently resting his gaze at the floor. He didn’t know what to do next. He had tried hard to hold back a usual gay insult but decided not to let one slip as he had lent out his comb. He was trying to stop with that anyways. Besides, what was the point in fighting? Perhaps he should try to be a little more casual and calm. Striking up a new conversation might help. “Umm… Why do you keep your hair long?”

“Huh?” Sal looked at Travis in the corner of his eye. The question was about his hair and he didn’t really have an answer for it. “I don’t know to be honest. I like it long I guess.”

“Oh... That simple?” Travis asked as he ran his hand through his own hair. He quickly stopped as he realized that he would mess it up if he did. His hair needed to be combed and neatly styled. It was expected of him. “My father would kill me if I styled my hair like yours.”

“Too bad.“ Sal mumbled as he tried to get another annoying knot out of his hair. “It would add more character to you.”

“Oh shut up…” Travis frowned but a weak smile formed on his lips. “I guess Larry keeps it long because of the metal?”

Sal admitted that he was again shocked about the fact that Travis mentioned Larry in the conversation. He nodded and then hissed as the knot caused his scalp to sting. “Yep. Head-banging reasons.”

“Does he ever wear his hair in pigtails too?” Travis smirked as if he wanted something to use against Larry. Sal shrugged and groaned at the knot between his fingers.

“If I style his hair for him, then he has to, but usually no. He likes it down.” He then tugged the knot so hard that the comb snapped out of his hands and fell to the floor. A little noise was heard as it hit the cold floor. Sal felt like cursing at that moment but kept it in. Travis snorted and got up from the floor. He then reached down to pick the comb up and inspected it. It had lost two teeth in the fall and probably thanks to Sal’s thick hair.

He took a short moment before he looked at Sal again. “Umm.. Do you need help or something?”

“Help?” The bluenette moved his hair aside before the question really sunk in. “You want to brush my hair?”

Travis flinched and almost clenched his hand around the comb. He looked around as if he was looking for help. When he felt calmer he shrugged and sighed. “I mean, your groaning and struggling gets annoying so I just want to help, okay?”

“Whatever you say.” Sal smirked behind the mask and nodded. “Want me to sit down?”

“Well, there are not many chairs around so just sit on a box. Just don’t break anything more. I broke enough when the stupid box fell down.” Travis said as he pulled one of the cardboard boxes forward. He quickly checked inside to make sure there weren’t anything fragile inside it. When he was done he pushed the box towards Sal and told him to sit down. The bluenette sat down, making himself comfortable as Travis walked up behind him. He looked at Sal’s back. He felt that knot in his stomach again. With a gulp he reached out and gently took a lock of hair between his fingers. The light blue color was even prettier on close up.

He then gently placed the comb between the tips of Sal’s hair and began gently tugging it. In the process he felt that it was a little complicated because of the mask. It then hit him and he almost froze on spot. Sal could feel that Travis stopped and he gently turned to face him over his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

Travis bit his lip before he fiddle with the comb in his hands. “Well… It’s just…” He thought about it before saying anything more. It didn’t seem like that big of a problem but he had to point it out. “The prosthetic.”

“What about it?” Sal blinked.

“It’s… It’s holding back your hair thanks to the straps holding it on place. You know, around the head?” Travis didn’t understand why but he felt almost embarrassed pointing it out. However, Sal felt even more embarrassed. How couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought about that himself!? It was obvious that the mask needed to come off in order to brush his hair out. There was a long silence between them. Travis almost felt like cancelling the whole thing when Sal finally spoke again.

“Alright, it’s coming off.” He said it calm and soft before he slowly reached his hands up to the back of his head. As he began unbuckling the straps he let out a weak word. “But…”

“I promise not to look at your face.” Travis said with a gentle voice. He knew what Sal were about to say. He didn’t deny or hide the fact that he was curious about the bluenette’s face, but of course he had respect for it!

“Thank you, Travis.” Sal said with a gentle smile forming on his lips. He finished unbuckle the straps and soon the mask left his face, begin placed in his lap. Now Travis could begin for real. He put the comb between his lips, reached out and gently moved Sal’s hair backwards. He made sure to put it behind his ears so that his earrings wouldn’t get stuck. Then he took the comb from his mouth and began stroking the teeth of the comb through the blue locks. The sensation quickly went from stingy to gently enjoyable as the knots were finally out of Sal’s hair. Travis knew what he was doing.

“Don’t get any ideas… I’ve just practiced on my own hair for years.” Travis mumbled. He didn’t know if Sal knew about his secret or if he would simply joke about him begin gay as revenge. But Sal of course didn’t say a thing. He enjoyed the moment of bonding with the angry classmate. The fact that his face got a chance to breath was also nice and he enjoyed every second of it.

“I didn’t say anything.” He smiled. He was gently stroking his mask with his thumb and stared right ahead. Travis kept his focus on the hair and tried not to look over the sides. He wouldn’t break his promise. He tried to think about a conversation but it was harder than he thought. Then he thought about another thing and decided to ask.

“So, do you have a blind spot on that thing?” Travis of course referred to the mask in Sal’s hands.

“Blind spot?” Sal tried not to turn his head.

“I mean, when you wear it…” Travis began before pulling the comb through the locks again, slowly. “Is it easy to see through it or are there any angles that are hard to see through?”

“Hmm…” Sal thought for a moment. It was indeed a good question. “To be honest, I’m so used to it that I never thought about that. It could be the sides then. I can’t see all the way to left and right while wearing it. I have to turn my head a lot.”

“I see.” Travis continued a few gentle strokes through Sal’s hair. “You know, your voice is much clearer when your mask is off.”

“That’s because it’s not muffled by it.” Sal gently stroked is hand over the mask, wiping it as if he wanted to get it clean from dirt.

“Is it hard wearing it?” Travis asked. He felt a little bad for Sal who had to wear a custom-made face every day. Normally he never thought about it at all.

“Hard..?” Sal thought about it for a while as his fingertips ran over the mask. “It is hard sometimes. I do wish I would have the courage to step outside without it but… I just don’t know if I can do it. It’s everyone’s reactions when they see me… I don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s nightmares or sickening feelings.”

Travis could feel how he bit his lip and felt bad for asking. Even though he didn’t know himself what was under the mask he knew it must be hard to live with another face just to be considered normal. He knew himself how it felt to be a freak and he didn’t even have any “defects” on the outside. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay, dude.” Sal sighed. “You’re allowed to ask.” As he felt another gentle stroke from the comb he let out a gentle sigh. It felt so strange that Travis was so gentle with him at this very moment. He was used to his classmate teasing and bully him all the time. He couldn’t even remember why they dude hated him. “Hey Travis?”

“What?” The blonde classmate asked as he inspected the blue locks again. He wanted to be sure he didn’t miss a knot somewhere.

“…Do you really hate me?” Sal asked as he stroked his fingertips over his prosthetic. He felt a sudden jump with the comb which probably meant that Travis flinched in his movement. There was a pause in the combing before yet another stroke made its way through Sal’s hair. 

“…I don’t hate you.” Travis spoke with a low voice. “I don’t hate you or your friends. I would be lying through my teeth if I said that I hate you.”

Those words almost felt like a warm embrace around Sal’s torso. So it was not the case for the bullying? “Then…” He began.

“Why do I tease you so much?” Travis filled in the words for Sal. He let out a big sigh and kept on combing. “I’m jealous of you. You have so many things I could only dream about having. You’re an amazing person and you don’t even try… It’s you being YOU… I’m sorry…”

“You tease me because I’m me?” Sal asked out loud and stared right ahead. 

“Well… there might be other reasons…” Travis mumbled quietly. He didn’t want for Sal to hear it. “Can we change subject? I already feel ashamed like hell.”

They stayed silent for a while until Travis felt that all the knots were gone and Sal’s hair was fine. He shaking ran his fingers through the blue locks and felt that it was knot free. He was just about to tell Sal about it when he was met with a new question. “Can you braid?”

“Huh? Braid? You want me to braid your hair?” Travis felt so happy that Sal had his head turn from his so that he couldn’t see his obvious panic. Brushing was fine but braiding? He then felt as if he was making a big deal out of nothing. “I mean… Sure. But I’m not good at it.”

“Neither am I. Give it a try.” Sal smiled.

“But don’t you prefer pigtails?” Travis rubbed the back of his neck. “Not that you wouldn’t look less good in braids…”

“Nah, I want a braid now. I like my pigs, but braids are cool too.” Sal sat up better and arched his neck. Travis slowly moved his hands forward and grabbed a handful of hair. He first collected it all in his hands as if he was making a ponytail, he then separated it in three pieces so that he could even out the braid better. Sal felt both safe and comfortable at the moment. Travis has a very gentle touch. Despite all the anger he knew that Travis kept inside, he was so calm and gentle at the moment.

Travis admitted he felt calm and safe as well. He completely forgot about the time and only focused on the braid. Sal’s thick, blue hair was nice to touch and work with. It almost felt like a therapy to him. “May I have one of your hairbands?” Travis couldn’t believe that he asked so nicely, but he did.

Sal was smiling happily and took one of his blue hairbands of his wrist and handed it to Travis over his shoulder. The blonde grabbed it from him and tied the end of Sal’s braid so it would be hold in place. When the braid was finished, Travis gently held it between his hands and inspected his work. He sighed and pouted his lips a little. “It’s crooked…” He mumbled in disappointment.

Sal reached his hand up for it and pulled the braid over his shoulder so it could fall over his left side. He inspected it himself for a short while and then gently moved it back over his shoulder so it could fall on his back. “Nah, it’s fine! I like it. You did a great job.” He smiled and lifted up his mask from his lap. In a short moment it was gently placed onto his face again and the straps went around his head. Travis almost asked if he should help Sal strap it back on but prevented himself from it. He would just make it awkward if he did.

Finally as the mask was back on, Sal could finally turn around to face his classmate again. It was hard to see but Sal was indeed smiling behind the mask. He really enjoyed the time he spent with Travis. Even Travis smiled a little. “So, what now?”

It took some more time before they continued a new conversation but eventually they decided to share some interests with each other. Sal told him about the music he was into, about his cat Gizmo and his favorite cartoons. Travis didn’t share too much about himself but did add that he liked the library. He did enjoy reading but mostly enjoyed the silence. It gave him peace.

When they ran out of subjects again, they started to look through the boxes again after anything to entertain them with.

They found a mini-light strand with colorful bulbs. For fun they actually started to decorate the clothes for Christmas. It was not like they did anything wrong by it. When the lights were placed on some nails and shelf's on the walls they plugged them in with the help of an outtake near the door. In a second the closet was lighten up with glowing colors. It was great! Both of them let out a small laugh as the lights surrounded them.

Sal shook his head and looked at the door’s direction. “I wonder when people will notice us gone. I really wish I brought a watch or something to keep track on time.”

“I don’t care if they ever find us.” Travis mumbled as he stared at the lights. He started to enjoy this too much to let the moment slip between his fingers.

Sal turned his head and noticed the smile on Travis face. He was eyeing his classmate in the corner of his eye. It almost didn’t feel like it was the Travis from his school anymore he was looking at. This person was happy and relaxed. He brought out a soul that had been kept away for years and it was wonderful to see that it wasn’t broken!

Sal then had a suggestion to kill time, and hopefully get to know each other even better. “Hey, Travis! Wanna play a game?”

“Depends on what kind of game it is.” Travis shrugged but gave into the idea of playing. It could be fun.

“Okay, it’s quite easy and not very flashy. I call it ‘Create an image’. I made it up myself to get to know people better. I’ve already played it with the others but I love doing it over and over again for fun.”

“Huh? Is it kind of… Is it like a game you can only play once?” Travis asked as he felt a little confused about the so called ‘game’ so far.

“No. You can play it how much you like. But I suggest you wait at least a week before playing it with the same person again. Otherwise you already know the answer and what’s the fun in that?” Sal asked with a little chuckle added.

“But you still haven’t explained what the whole game is? What’s the purpose of it and what are the rules?” Travis asked as he walked closer to him.

“Yeah, sorry. I must be confusing you. The game is simple. You simply ask a person what they think of you when they see you. Like, they need to create an image of you with the help of what you remind them of. Do you understand?” Sal tilted his head.

Travis thought for a moment. He didn’t get it all at first but it slowly became clear. “So… If got it right. You ask me what I think of you and I get to tell you what I think about?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Sal nodded. “Mostly you play it for the moment only. Such as I tell you an image I get from you right now and then wait a while to see how much you changed when we play next time. You want to give it a try?”

“I don’t know…” Travis rubbed his neck as if he was getting nervous. “If I played a game like that… People would only look down on me.”

“Is that what you think I would do?” Sal asked and took a step closer.

“N-no… I didn’t say that but… I don’t know.” Travis looked aside and sighed. He had too low self-esteem for those kinds of things. Yet Sal wouldn’t give up on him that easily.

“How about if I start and give you my honest opinion on how I feel about you right now?” Sal asked and lifted his hand, gently placing it up on Travis shoulder. Travis was taller than Sal so the fact that the bluenette had to stand on his toes a bit to reach was rather cute. Travis finally gave in for the game and nodded. This made Sal very happy as he finally felt that he gained some trust from the blonde.

Travis then leaned against the wall a little as Sal took his time to inspect him. Sal simply stood in front of him and kept a good eye at every single detail of his classmate. It almost made Travis feel embarrassed. After what felt like hours, Sal finally spoke up.

“When I look at you… I feel that you’re like a closed book to me. And for some reason I really want to open the cover and read the pages to find out the story.”

Travis felt as if a bucket of warm water was poured down his back. Was that the image Sal got from him. A book? Not a bully, A rotten bag of garbage or a defect embarrassment? A book?

“Y-you… refer me to a book?” He asked as he stared at Sal with wide eyes.

“Well, yeah. Is it that bad?” Sal tilted his head again.

“N-no. It’s actually… It could be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me.” The help from the lights behind them made it easier to hide the fact that he was now blushing.

“What about me? What am I in your eyes?” Sal asked, now more interested than ever to get someone’s opinion about himself.

Travis wiped his cheeks again as if he wanted to wipe away the blood under his skin. It didn’t help at all. With a deep breath he locked eyes with Sal and stayed like that for a while. It took a few minutes for Travis to let his eyes wander up and down, capturing the details of Sally face. The lights behind the bluenette brought out a silhouette of light around him which capture his interesting beauty. Travis had to lower his sight for a while. This was too weird but he wanted to tell Sal his true feelings. But he couldn’t do it… Instead, he decided to tell him the next best way for it. “Umm… I guess, to me… You’re like a painting?”

“Painting?” It almost felt like it was the first time Sal heard that word.

“Yeah. I mean, I can’t really tell what it looks like, I don’t know who made it but I do know that it makes me… well… moved and happy.” Travis took another breath and sighed nervously.

“I make you happy?” Sal asked. A hint of surprise was well heard in his voice.

“I didn’t say that! I just meant-“Travis bit his lip roughly. It almost felt as if it would start bleeding at any moment now. He turned around quickly and put his hands up. He grabbed one of the top shelfs to keep stable and stared down at the floor. His chest felt warm and his face was burning up at the moment. What was even the point in acting up anyway? “So what if you do?”

Travis flinched as he felt a hand on his back and a light tug on his shirt. It was probably Sal’s way of telling him to relax and face him again. Travis gulped and looked aside so that his eyes could meet Sal’s. Those blue eyes behind that mask were like two of a curious kitten. Next time they played he would make an image of a cat to describe Sal. The bluenette then gently tilted his head aside and sighed. “I’m very glad that you don’t hate me and that I can help you.”

The blonde groaned inside and quickly looked down at the floor once more. He didn’t know if he would ever get another chance like this. Perhaps if he could just… Perhaps as quick as a band aid… He feared that he would lose more than he could afford at the moment, but he had to get this off his chest before it consumed him alive. With cheeks that burned warm as fire and a heart beating so fast it could pop out of his chest, he turned to face the masked bluenette. Sal’s eyes were focused on Travis. It didn’t bother that one of them was made out of glass. In fact it made them shine even more. Travis didn’t bother anymore. He had to tell him. It was now or never.

“Sal…” He began, feeling his throat get all clogged up. Sal only returned a calm stare and nodded. It took some time but the blonde could finally continue. “I have to tell you something.”

“Yeah?” Sal asked while he leaned in a little. Travis was speaking with a rather low tone so he had to make sure to hear him out.

Travis couldn’t decide if he should lean in or move away from the bluenette now closing up to him. He wanted to be close to him but… At that moment he decided that whatever was said in this closet could always stay in this closet. He had to say it. “Sal, I… I lov-”

Both of them suddenly jumped on the spot as the door was swung open and they were met by one of the adults from the decoration group. A wave of questions met them as the woman standing in the doorway asked where the two had slacked off to. And why on earth was the closet decorated? Why didn’t they tell where they went? Travis felt a knot in his stomach as his father was mention later on. The older man had been looking for him and was probably going to scold him for slacking off. Great… The woman headed inside, bend down and grabbed one of the boxes on the floor. She then lifted it up and told the two boys to follow her as she exited the room.

Travis felt as if the ceiling was crushing his bones at the moment. He almost wished for them never to be found. Fucking cock-blockers he thought to himself as he clenched his fist, ready to hit the wall. The anger he felt drained away as he felt a gentle touch on his face. Sal had just placed his hand on his cheek, looking at him with calm eyes. He didn’t say anything, only stared at him. Travis could feel his heart beating all over his body, he couldn’t describe if he were about to burst or vomit from the strange panic his heart gave away. All he knew was that he was happy. Extremely happy.

Sal then moved his hand from his cheek down to his arm, gently grabbing it. “C’mon.” He said with a happy tone behind the mask, leading the blonde towards the door. “Let’s come out of the closet together.”

Travis flinched and blushed madly at that one. “W-What!?”

“You heard me, dude. C’mon!” Sal chuckled and pulled Travis with him. As they exited the doorway and came back out into the building again it filled Travis with new hope. Despite the fact that he didn’t get to tell Sal and that he weren’t sure if the fellow classmate knew the truth, he felt happy and strong.

He knew that he would get another change.


End file.
